Sweet Dreams
by Avagrabo
Summary: Yaoi, lemon eventually I imagine...Wufei and Duo wrestle with their own problems in their own ways. But they find that by joining forces they can find peace much easier...Read and Review, I'll give you a cookie.
1. Da Illest

Chapter 1: Da Illest.

(Written to some random Weezer, Rammstein, and Cake songs.)

(Varied Warnings: Silly insertion of favorite games, profanity, shounen-ai, yaoi, eventual lemon, Duo spanking, total lack of attention to any kind of timeline concerns, and possibly a little OOC-ness. I don't get to see much of the show, so my characters are based off of what I know of them from other's stories. Do tell me if they're different on the actual anime/manga. Enjoy, although homophobes and continuity fanatics need not apply.)

(Sheesh, if I were owned GW or made any money off my stories don't you think I could afford a decent set of GW DVDs? I don't even have any bootlegs)

It was three AM, and Duo Maxwell could sense his prey's fear. He stalked the halls, his comrades around him, their weapons searching, searching, but they knew that the kill was his. Around the corner, leaping and ducking to avoid any chance of enemy sniper fire, he crept, already tasting his victim's blood

And there he was. Crouched behind a crate, waiting for an un-expecting warrior to walk into his line of fire. Duo trained his weapon and let off four full-auto blasts. The man slumped, and an electronic voice in his ear declared victory-

And that the man Duo had just killed was switching teams.

"BITCH! I dun TOLD you not ta fuck wid da illest!"

*

Even though he had no real interest in sleeping, Chang Wufei still reserved the right to be pissed about Duo's victory cry. It was far to early to be playing such silly games anyway, not the way he sucked down coffee in the morning.

_Couldn't he even be bothered to speak proper English when he screeches his little profanity-laden taunts?_

Putting down the copy of Sun Tzu's 'Art of War, a New Translation' he had been relying on to keep him up, Wufei padded softly to the door, silently easing open the door to the quarters he had chosen from the latest safe house. With stealthy stalking that put Duo's to shame, he strode quickly up to the door to the braided tornado's room (hinges still splintered from the last time he turned the music up to loud to hear anyone tell him to turn it down, even after the door went down he had to be tapped on the shoulder to notice anything was wrong), and knocked ever so softly.

_Oh, like THAT'S going to work. Damn him and his headphones_

Suprisingly, the door was opened before he could try more strenuous measures. "Whadya want?" Asked a red-eyed and pressed-for-time looking Duo, his customary friendliness and geniality erased by the adrenaline of slaying and the effects of sleeping three or four hours a night for weeks on end.

"I WANT you to set aside whatever foolish program caused you to disturb my rest with your grammatically improper celebration. I'll settle for a cessation of such loud gloating, however. As long as it comes with an explanation of whatever magical trick I inadvertently used to make you answer the door."

Duo blinked. And blinked again, sleep deprivation slowing his nerves. "just come in while I force you to speak English, I can't miss any more time" He turned around and wandered back into the maw.

Wufei faced a quandary. It was necessary that the need not to scream in triumph at ungodly hours of the morning be explained to Duo, but if the price was entering his roomWufei shuddered at the thought. _On the other hand, I hear gunfire, so maybe the ben dan has found something more interesting to do with his time than I haveinto the breach I suppose_

Stepping into the darkened room, Wufei carefully picked his way across a wasteland of dirty clothes to where a ratty-looking braid coiled in the darkness, reflecting the glare from a massive computer monitor. On the monitor a strange set of what appeared to be scores or rankings glowed in shades of red and blue, superimposed over a pixelated desert city.

"Right, got some more time till the next match. Now what the hell were ya talkin about, Wu-man? You can show off your fancy words once I wake up, stick with one or two syllables for now please."

"First things first. Why did you screamwhatever that was?"

Duo sighed. "Just blew some guy fulla holes. He pissed me off, I felt like celebrating. Sorry if I woke you."

"Blew him full of holes? What are you talking about?"

"With an auto-shotgun. Guy was on the other side, took down some of my teammates, so I took him out."

"An auto-shotgun? Why didn't I hear-oh. This is a game, isn't it? One of those online ones?"

Duo rolled his eyes before gluing them to the screen as the scene switched to a small courtyard full of soldiers, the camera obviously held by one of them, since a gun barrel protruded out in front of it. "Of course it's a game. I don't blow people away in real life unless we're on a mission."

Wufei blinked at the bitterness in Duo's voice. _What does he have against 'blowing people away'? He always seems to relish it in the midst of battle_

"Do you mind if I watch for a while?" Wufei was intrigued by the game, and by Duo's strange tone.

"I'd love the company, Wu-man, pull up a patch of floor. Or bed." He waved vaguely in the direction of the bed, his focus on the game, where the soldiers were grouping together in a pack and beginning the hunt.

Wufei sat cross-legged on the bed, watching the game unfold. It was eerily lifelike, in the sense that a single bullet could end a life, and the weapons were realistically inaccurate in full-auto mode, complete with kick effects.

Duo was obviously a master of the auto-shotgun, though, he racked up seventeen kills through five rounds before he died.

"A pity. So, back to my book I suppose"

"Whadya talking about? I'll be back in the game next round!"

And so he was. Wufei was stunned. "And I thought this was a REALISTIC game"

Duo's voice went all strange again. "I wish it were. I wish reality were more like this." He looked like he was going to say more, but he buttoned up quickly.

"Hey when are you gonna go to sleep anyway, Fei? I mean, why're ya staying up like this? You should be well-rested, lots of silly pranks of mine you need to scream about tomorrow"

Wufei 'hmph'-ed. "Thank you for the warning, Maxwell, but I don't feel like sleep. If I'm bothering you though, I'll go back to my room and read." He slid off the bed and made for the door.

"It's 'k if you wanna stay. I know you just can't RESIST my company!" Duo flashed a trademark grin, the effect spoiled slightly by it being aimed at the center of his attention, the computer, rather than Wufei.

"No thanks, I'll pass. You should get some sleep though, Maxwell. Any more of that screaming and Yuy will refer to you only as 'baka' for the rest of your life"

Duo snickered. "I'll live. As I recently proved, even if he DOES shoot me, I'll just be back next round, and his ammo can't hold out forever."

Wufei snorted softly. "Good night, D-Maxwell." Somehow a 'd' merged with the 'm' in Maxwell, but Duo didn't notice.

"'Night, Fei. Sweet dreams."

The irony almost made Wufei laugh, as he walked back to his room. _Sweet dreams, Duo, are why I'm trying to stay up_

Like last night. The field of flowers. Meiran-

_The dreams are sweet. But reality isn't._ All the dreams did was make him miss them, and her, more. It wasn't actually the sleeping Wufei minded.

It was the waking up.

*

Duo sighed, missing Wufei already. _He brightened my night. Not that that would take much._

He infinitely preferred his games to sleeping, and Wufei was ever-so-useful for keeping him up.

__

In dreams and online both I'm killing peopleis that all I'm good for?

His every thought these days was of Shinigami. It was harder and harder to be DUO, Duo Maxwell, the joker, the smiling boy. All he could do was try to kill people who would come back for more. When he slept

__

When I sleep, the people don't come back. They never will. And the worst part is that I don't care. Every single one of them, like me, with hopes and dreams and people they love. And all of that is gone with one swing of the thermal scythe. But I can't see it that way. They aren't people to me.

I don't want to kill thembut when I do

It's fun.

Duo sprayed hot lead over the enemy, and tried to see beyond the bleeding corpse to the real, angry person sitting in front of their computer, waiting for their chance at revenge.

(My first new multi-chaptered story in a whileso you can always hope the next chapter will be better. I sure as hell do. I should mention that I owe Mindmelda for forcing me to read GW in the first place and writing 'Insomnia', which semi-kinda-maybe inspired this one. In a very basic way. For those of you who don't know, the game Duo's playing is really just Half Life: Counterstrike. Buy it, get high-speed internet, and you can use an auto-shotgun too. Although people will yell at you and call you a n00b, it's a cheap weapon. Update tomorrow in all likelyhood, unless you guys really flame the hell out of me. *Yawn* G'night.)


	2. All Under Heaven

Chapter 2: All Under Heaven (Written to various anime themes, mostly RK and FLCL)

The next night, blinking away sleep for the millionth time, Wufei shook his head in annoyance at his current copy of 'Art of War'. _I miss reading in Chinesenext time I have to read 'All under Heaven' twenty times in one paragraph I'm going to-_

Whatever he was going to do was lost in a soft knock at his door.

"Wu-man? You still up?"

_Just what I need to brighten my night._ Wufei was surprised to hear his own sarcasm ring true inside his head. _Hmph. I guess a little human company wouldn't hurt, and Duo marginally qualifies._

"Come in."

Duo stumbled in blearily, collapsing in a vaguely sitting-like position. "Heya Wu-man. Damn game server's down, figured I pass a little time until it goes back up."

"Ever heard of sleep, Maxwell? It would do you some good" Wufei trailed off.

"Nah, I prefer games to dreams." Duo looked wistfully through gummy eyes. 

His voiced dropped to nearly incomprehensible levels. "It's better when" He mumbled the rest into the pillow.

"What?"

"It's betterthey come back." Duo stood suddenly. "I should leave you alone, you've got reading."

"Not so fast, Maxwell! It's better when who come back?" Wufei was genuinely intrigued by this sudden shift in Duo's personality. He HAD been looking a little sleep-deprived lately, but generally in the daylight he was still as bouncy and contrary as ever. Full of lifenot-

Not death.

"No one, Fe-babe, don't worry about it. My server's probably up by now. Get some sleep, you look like you could use it." He wrinkled his nose and smiled a bit. "Like I need to tell you to though! With books like this to fill your time, you should have no trouble dropping off!"

Wufei growled. "These are classics, ben dan, and I'm sure an uneducated European like yourself has no chance of understanding their-umm, their-"

"Yeah, thought so."

"Oh be quiet. Here, takethis one. Try and tell me that isn't truly great writing, and easily capable of keeping a warrior like myself awake."

"It is the nature of the army to stress speed; to take advantage of the enemy's absence; to travel unexpected roads; and to attack when they are not alert. Jesus L., you should come up and play Counterstrike, I pity you if you're trying to stay up on THIS. It reads like a cookbook!"

Wufei snorted contemptuously. "The lessons may be simple, Maxwell, but you still need to learn them."

"Ha! Fei, with a book like that, which you've no doubt read dozens of times, you'll be up to my room to watch me shoot people in no time!"

"You ARE tired, you seem to be hallucinating. I'll come to YOUR room for entertainment when hell freezes over!"

*

"So I lied. Sun Tzu says that the successful general may need to lie at times to win 'All under Heaven'."

"Yeah, well, Sun Tzu is also the reason you have to watch an idiot play a computer game at 6 AM to keep from falling asleep. Although you still haven't explained why you don't want to sleep."

"Hmph. I'll tell when you do, Maxwell."

Duo's attention never shifted from the screen, where his traditional auto-shotgun was replaced with a combat knife. "It's a knife round," The braided boy had informed Wufei as soon as he opened the door. "come fast!"

Efficiently stabbing an enemy who was facing the wrong direction, Duo, laughed. "This game is so easy, the jackasses don't have a chance against me"

"Takes one to know one, jackass."

"HEY! I'd like to see YOU do better!"

"Hmph. I'll have no traffic with such childish games."

"Ah. Afraid then."

"WHAT! Move over!"

_I KNEW that would work!_ Duo obligingly scooted off the chair, ironically presenting it to Wufei as though it were a throne. _Which it is, really._

The Chinese boy didn't disappoint, sitting with all the dignity he could muster. Duo couldn't help but giggle.

"Alright, killing people: lesson one. How to move!"

After a few minutes, Wufei was running, ducking, and shooting like a pro. "Cute. Now, get me a real gun, not this worthless inaccurate hunk of junk."

"WHAT!? I'll have you know that's one of the most powerful weapons in the game! Not that you would know, of course." Duo grinned slyly. "I'm sure you'd prefer something more precise, daintier"

"DAINTIER?!" Wufei practically screamed. "You wang be dan! I'll show you dainty!" He scrolled down to 'Machine Guns' and picked the only one on the list. "HERE'S your dainty!"

"Ha! You won't get one kill before someone, probably with an auto-shotgun, takes you down, Wu-fool!"

"Watch and learn." Wufei sprinted forward from his teams base, heavy weapon searching the screen for movement-

"Behind the door," whispered Duo, from behind him.

Wufei spun and cut loose, tracking fire all across the heavy wooden door, cutting down the enemy soldier who was half out of it.

"Hmph. No back-seat shooting, please."

"Hey, ya gotta admit it worked out pretty goodgo look behind the door."

Wufei cautiously and suspiciously slid through the half-open portal, to find-

Two more opponents, who had forgotten that you can shoot THROUGH doors.

"Hey, nice one, Fei-dude!" Duo ruffled Wufei's hair, springing back to avoid retaliation. Wufei, however, wasn't planning any.

Oh, the idea had occurred to him, nearly by reflexthere was something about someone touching his hair that he liked. It wascomforting.

"Hmph."

*

Duo, without his beloved game to play now that Wufei was using it, was having trouble staying awake. He was almost relieved when the Chinese boy bid him good night and walked to the door.

"Right. 'Bye Wu-manunless you want a good-night kiss?" Duo slid up to Wufei and planted a teasing kiss right on a cheek.

Wufei's reaction wassuprising.

Shenlong's pilot grabbed Duo into a tight, nearly harsh embrace, mashing their lips together so hard that they both stumbled backwards towards the bed. Duo was surprised, but not so much that he didn't wrap his long legs around Wufei's waist before they hit the edge of the mattress.

Wufei was breathing hard, panting something about how Duo's kiss had just sent him over the edge, and he couldn't take it any more, and he dragged Duo with him along the bed and up against the wall, where he could press his crotch against the braided boy's and kiss him even harder and deeper.

Duo quickly undid his pants and wriggled them down his thighs, dragging reluctant boxers with them, and pressed his straining erection against Wufei's chest, his shirt lost some time while Duo was dealing with the trousers. Wufei groaned and ravaged Duo's collarbone and neck with teeth and tongue, while reaching behind Duo to grab his ass, Duo screaming his name-

"Maxwell?"

Said Maxwell's eyes popped open. "JESUS H. CHRIST!!"

Wufei was staring at him, a strange look on his face. "Apparently you'll be needing this computeryou were dozing.

"You kept calling my name"

Duo gulped. "Strange! Don't remember a thing about it! Ha!"

Wufei wasn't buying it, but he had reading to do. "Well then, goodnight

"Duo."

He walked out, leaving the braided God of Death sitting, stunned and alone with his erection.

*

Wufei sat quietly on his bed, cross-legged, flipping slowly through his book and not reading a word.

_It's weird, how when you're tired and distracted, the words sort ofslip through your mind. You think you've absorbed them, but all you did was SEE them. I can see the shape of the letters, but none of them make words. Or if they do, none of the words are any more than a few letters strong together, they aren't 'army' or 'go' or 'it'._

He sighed. _And I know exactly why. Not that I'll admit it to myself. I'm to tired to be forthcoming with ANYONE who might make fun of me at the moment. And I'm high on that list. _

Whether or not he would admit it, the lump in his pants wasn't going away. It had been there since the third or fourth time Duo moaned softly from his dream, and Wufei had been forced to wake him when he had called his name, lest he lose the remainder of his composure. And hence need to change. 

_There's no doubt a perfectly reasonable explanation, maybe I'm more libidinous when I'm tired. Or something. But there's no way that DUO MAXWELL is the reason I've lost control of my own body._

Wufei tossed aside the book and stalked in a tight circle in the center of the room. _NothingDO!!_ Couldn't read, couldn't play that damnable game, which he missed already, and the only other alternative was sleep, which would mean dreams, which would mean waking up crying.

Again.

_Only one thing for it,_ Wufei thought, idly stroking himself and gazing towards the bathroom with lusty eyes. _Maybe I'll be able to read thenit's not something anyone should do often, but still, I need the relaxation._

Taking himself firmly in hand, he cleared his mind-

No. He didn't. His mind was to full of images, and not ones that were proper for what he had in mind. He remembered Duo's fingers running through his black, soft hair, his quiet groans of pleasure from the bed, the way he said his name, his REAL name for once-

_GODAMMIT!!_

Wufei got very little reading OR sleeping done that night.

*

Duo, on the other hand, slept like a baby.

A very horny baby. His dreams picked off where the first had left off, and by the time he woke up the next day he badly needed new boxers, a shower, and a change of sheets.

_If only that were all I needed, or my needs were so easily dealt with_

(Bleh. Need to go write another one. Need to write an RK fic, while I'm at it. And I NEED MIK-CHAN TO UPDATE!!! PLEASE!!! IF YOU DON'T I'LL CONTINUE TO WRITE CRAPPY GW!!! T00000444555T!!!111 Oh, and thank you Dil for actually reading this shit. It makes me happy. L8r all. Love ya' Koishii.)


	3. With You

Chapter 3: With You (Jesus, I have weird tasteFive Iron Frenzy, Rammstein, Weezer, AND bits of Eminem and Ludacris. AND now Dil has given me taste, so add Pink Floyd.)

(I don't own GW, I just make the characters screw each other silly on occasion. And I don't pay a cent! Pretty good deal, neh?)

"Wu-man, we've GOT to stop meeting like this!"

"I assume you meant that as a joke, ben dan, as at this late hour I imagine you need all the help you can get in your never-ending quest to stay awake."

Duo finished opening the door and ushered Wufei into his room, seeming all the darker than the corridor outside because of the single contrasting point of brightness in the gloom.

The monitor glowed with an almost unholy aura of radiance with the digital sun's reflection from the digital sand in the digital desert, where real people fought with digital weapons to the digital death.

Duo, needless to say, had digitally lost this round, otherwise Wufei might have spent quite a while waiting at the door.

"Actually I don't NEED any help tonight, somehow I dropped off yesterdayand that's a very cute puppy-dog face, 'Fei, but no fear, I'm not kicking you out."

"I have no such fears! I just feel the need to play that blasted game again"

Duo grinned widely, his night of sleep obviously a big boon to his waning sense of humor. "Addictive, ain't it? Well wait your turn, Woofles, good things come to those who wait. In the meantime, I need to introduce you to the wonders of rap."

"First off, call me 'Woofles' again and I'll rip your throat out with my bare hands. Next: what's 'rap'? And please don't tell me it's that crap you're always driving Yuy insane with, I hear ENOUGH of that."

"No no, rap is meant for headphones. Here!" Duo dangled a shiny pair of ear pieces at the reluctant Wufei, who resignedly slid them on and waited as though a death sentence had been placed on him.

"Alright, start the 'rap'. I'll take it like a man."

Duo laughed. "Just for that, let's start you off on some of this"

__

We don't do drive-by's

We park in fronna houses an shoot!

And when the po-lice come we fuckin' shoot it out with em' too!

That's the mentality here, (here!)

That's the reality here! (here!)

Did I just hear someone say they wanna challenge me here!? (here!?)

When I'm holdin' a pistol with this many calibers here?! (here?!)

"Duo, this is sad. And here I was beginning to have hope for your humanity."

"It'll grow on ya. Just listen for a bit, while I dust some bitches."

"Hmph." Truth be told, as contemptuous as Wufei was of the pathetic music, the lyrics did evoke a strangely rythmic feel. He would have tapped his feet if he didn't regard such childish displays as puerile and unnecessary.

So Wufei sat still and quiet and watched Duo rip through hordes of terrorists with his usual weapon. He even managed to hold in a few choice comments about compensation and said weapon, if only because he had hopes of using the computer that night.

The music changed, slowly. _Damn Duo and his eccentric tastes in this retro crap!_ _At least he has the decency to mix his CDs, so as to avoid staying on ONE bad artist for to long. Instead, he spreads his songs among MANY terrible artists_

_Like this! Silly disc-scratching noises and that bloody bass, and the lyrics!_

_I woke up in a dream today (To the cold and the static)_

Put my cold feet on the floor

Forgot about yesterday (Remembering)

I'm pretending to be who I'm not any more

A little taste of hypocrisy

And I'm left in the wake of the mis-take (Slow to react)

Cause even though your so close to me (You're still so distant)

And I can't bring you back

Meiran came to mind so quickly Wufei couldn't keep her out. No matter how he tried. _Fucking song, I don't WANT a terrible piece like THIS to bring back memories of the only person I've ever loved._

Of course I don't want those memories to come back at all

_It's true the way I feel_

Was promised by your face

The sound of your voice

Painted on my memories

Even when you're not with me

I'm with you

Wufei's vision narrowed, then blurred ever-so-slightly. _FUCK SHITTING SONG!! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!! SHE'S FUCKING DEAD!! PLEASE-_

You (You)

Now I see

Keeping everything inside

With you (You)

Now I see

Even when I close my eyes-

Wufei ripped off the headphones and threw them like tiny and completely useless bolos across the room.

"Hey! Those were my good-Wu-dude?"

The black-haired boy buried his face in his hands, clutching at his scalp, and gave one loud, dry sob. He sat, hyperventilating and holding in tears for as long as he could, then stood suddenly and stalked from the room with all the dignity he had left.

Duo stared at the door, wondering if his music was really that bad. Then he dove for the headphones to find out which song had set his new-found friend off.

_I hit you and you hit me back (The rest of the day stands still)_

Fine line between this and that (When things go wrong)

I pretend that the past isn't real

_Oh._ Duo's mind spun. Despite outward appearances he wasn't really a tactless fool. He knew that Wufei was hurting. He knew he wanted to know why.

He started to plan

*

Wufei forced himself to sit still and quiet, cross-legged on the bed. He didn't even bother to hold a book and turn the pages, he knew nothing would get through. If his head had been fogged last night now it was clouded.

And it was raining.

_It's completely unreasonable to obsess as I have over Meiran. I THOUGHT I had put that all behind me until the dreams_

Fuck. Fuck Treize, fuck the war and the gundams and OZ, and just about everyone else too. Sleep deprivation and acute emotional pain had a marked effect on the already touchy Wufei. _Fuck Yuy, and Barton, and Winner, and Du-_

_Wait! I can't fuck-well I could fuck-NO I COULDN'T!! And why did I call him Duo?!_

There was a soft knock. Wufei knew who it was and had no intention of answering. He had better things to do with his time than be embarrassed about breaking down like that.

This was fine by Duo, who had no intention of waiting.

"Heya 'Fei! Why no book?"

Wufei facevaulted. _Isn't he going to ask? Son of a bitch, he's got more tact than I gave him credit for. Not that that's saying much_

"I tire of this translation. Although you might like it. Nice and simple for my favorite ben dan." Wufei realized he was overcompensating, that was almost a joke he had told, but it was either this or show the pain that he was working so hard to hide and Duo, DUO, was actually being rather nice about letting him keep without embarrassing him.

"Pass it here." Duo sat on the bed, stretching his legs and leaning against a pillow in a rather uncivilized, if endearing, manner. Wufei glared affectionately from his cultured lotus position, and tossed him the top book on the low shelf next to the bed.

"Oooh! How many ya got?" Duo scrambled to the small collection, sprawling across Wufei's lap and half off the bed.

"Off, damn you!" Wufei didn't make any move to actively _force_ him to get off, but he assured himself that there was an excellent reason for this that did not involve him enjoying having a lithe, braided young man rather prominently display his ass to him.

"I'm impressed at your restraint! Only five different copies of the Art of War!" Duo ignored Wufei's demands and wiggled slightly, presumably to get a better angle at the books.

"Seven," Said Shenlong's pilot, whose breath had hitched ever so slightly when his new lap ornament rubbed against him. _Little hentai, I felt that! Ohdamn, I've got one too _"I've got two copies in Chinese."

Duo himself gulped quietly when he felt the warmth straight through his pants from Wufei's enjoyment of the current position, but covered it up. "Figures. What's the rest?"

His victim couldn't help himself. Wufei innocuously 'shifted position' and thrust gently against the braided boy in his lap. _Serves him right! And besidesthat was good_

"Other Chinese military classics. You've probably got enough on your hands with Art of War for now. Go read it. You'll like it."

"Why spank you, 'Fei! Which reminds me," Duo dug into the back pocket of his pants and extracted a disc player. "Here. Got some stuff you might like a bit more. No icky faces! It's quieter, more complexnot really video-gaming music, but hey, I suppose some if us do other things from time to time, right?" He tossed the disc player and a pair of headphones to the other boy.

Wufei grinned inwardly at the CD player. It said Duo all over, from the scratches and scrapes to the missing battery cover (Duct taped, then cut away, then scotched taped because the duct tape remains were so sticky), and the blazing thermal scythe sticker that covered the manufacturer's logo. Not to mention the emblazoned 'DUO T3H GREAT'.

"Thank youDuo." Wufei really didn't WANT to smile, but he didn't have a great deal of choice about it. So he covered by bodily removing Duo from his lap, book in tow, and setting him on his feet.

"Right. I'm gonna go read this. You listen to that CD and get some sleep." Duo grinned. "Sadly enough, reading Art of War might actually DECREASE the number of people I kill tonight"

"Hmph. I'll sleep or not sleep as I see fit. And don't let me catch you skipping the liner notes. They're important no matter how much you want to get back to your mindless games"

Duo laughed out loud. "I won't, 'Fei. G'night!"

"Good night, Duo."

"Oh, I nearly forgot!"

"Hm?"

"Your goodnight kiss!"

"What? What are you-HEY! DAMN YOU MAXWELL!!"

"Nighty Night, 'Fei-babe!!"

*

Wufei had almost forgiven Duo when the CD finished playing through the first time. The music was, as promised, much quieter, and Wufei's finger hovered over the play button to start it over.

_Why the hell not?_ He though, with a kind of carefree mental flourish, and skipped to by far his favorite track, full of lonely plucking and wailing. Setting the track to repeat, he settled back into his usual position and listened, letting the music enrapture his mind and draw it from worldly concerns to a higher realm of his mind. Where he could think, seriously THINK, about the day's events.

__

Hey you,

Out there on the road,

Always doing what you're told,

Can you help me?

Hey you,

Out there beyond the wall,

Breaking bottles in the hall,

Can you help me?

Hey you,

Don't tell me there's no hope at all.

Together we stand, divided we fall. 

Wufei could feel himself being carried by the words, or at least by the meanings, or maybe just by the sounds, and was sure that wherever they were taking him, he would find his answers there.

When he woke up many hours later with a pained back, a magnificent boner, and a vague recollection of a dream about a certain naked, braided boy, he also discovered he needed to go ask Duo for new batteries. The ones he had been using had run out over the night, although after learning them subconsciously he was sure that he would now never be able to forget the words to 'Hey You'.

(Takin my time, takin my timesorry bout the wait. Ub4r-sp3c14l-m4g1c thankies to Dil, 133test beta reader of them all, may his name live in greatness through the rest of time for his coolness and his enemies burn in the fires of their own inadequacy. Garden-variety but still grateful thankies to various reviewers. Oh, and to the Society for Helping Wufei Get Some, to which I believe I now belong, since they liked 'Waffles'. Coooooolnext chapter: eventually. L8r! Love ya' Koishii!)


	4. Blurry

Chapter 4: Blurry (It's Puddle of Mudd. I'm not proud, OK? I have horrible taste in music for the most part. Get used to it. I don't own anything but a massive stack of new burned CDs (Mutter, Sehnsucht, Grotesque, AND Herzeleid!). I did borrow Endless Waltz, but it's taped from Cartoon Network. Very very few hickeys were left in the conception of this chapter.)

Duo's eyes slowly opened, not popping open to greet the day, but not hiding from it or having to force their way past a layer of sleepiness to grind their way up his cornea.

He had been sleeping well, ever since Wufei had started to visit in the nights. His mind spun at the implications of what he had just thought and made it's first dirty joke of the day, which he rejected as unfit for human ears and forgot.

_Really though, there's something about him that calms the killer in me. Hehe listens. He cares. Everyone else takes me at face value. To them I'm just a joker, a prankster, a fun guy. And they love me for it, they'll be my friendsbut none of them knows about the dreams._

None of them know that I'm a fucked up person. And if any of them did, I don't even know if they'd still like me. But Wufei knows, at least a little, and he comes back.

And when he comeseven just when I think about himI don't have to be a joker, and I don't have to be Shinigami. I can be Duo Maxwell.

I like being Duo Maxwell

Duo got up and made up a few more terrible and obscene jokes before heading down to breakfast.

*

Massaging his back, Wufei cursed viciously, and muttered about the injustice of spending eight hours sitting straight up.

_At least I didn't dream about Meiran_

And I DID dream about Duooh yes, indeed

Considering his last thought, Wufei groaned and collapsed face down on the bed. _So now naked, writhing Duo in my dreams is a GOOD thing?_

He had intended the question to be both rhetorical and unanswered, but a suprisingly large part of his mind immediately thought YES, but not as good as naked writhing Duo in real life.

_And it's not just a physical attraction. The other pilots and the doctors see me as a tool, a machine. When I work, they say nothing, they only see me when I break. But DuoDuo sees everyone as a person, and tries to make the vast majority of them his friends._

AND he has a fine ass

Wufei groaned again and burrowed deeper into the sheets.

*

"Don't tell me you've finished Art of War already!"

It was unreasonably late, or rather early, again, and Duo was standing in front of Wufei's door, grin strangely absent.

"No, not yetmind if I sit? Need to talk about sumtin'"

Wufei was surprised when he actually waited to be invited in before sweeping to the bed and, with an impressive leap and spin, sat cross-legged on it, leaning against the pile of discarded pillows. Wufei only used one, or just slept against the wall.

With a sigh, the Chinese pilot joined Duo, with spine rigid and legs firmly folded on each other. He cocked his head at the American. _What could it be that he wants to talk about? Has he noticed myattraction to him?_

"I dream, Wu-man. A lot. I dream about death. I don't fear it, I don't dream about feeling it. I dream about BEING it, being Shinigami, about cutting people down and apart with Deathscythe, like I have time and time again."

This was the most serious Wufei had ever seen Duo, and it scared him slightly. The face before him was MADE for a smile or a grin and a twinkle in the eye that was conspicuously absent.

"And in my dreams, I see all the people my attacks are killing. They're people, Wu. People like you or me. Some of them have histories almost like ours, some of them are a little more normal, but they all have fantasies and crushes and silly little rituals when they brush their teeth. They all have favorite foods. They all dream of piloting a Gundam, or of taking one down. They all want a family. Some of them write poetry or stories, sneaking onto the computers when there aren't any officers watching or writing on paper, and some of them are artists, sketching whatever they can. They might even be pretty good.

"But it doesn't matter to me, 'Fei. I don't care about their lives any more than I have to so that I can kill them. They're just numbers. I kill them on ACCIDENT, all of their hopes and dreams, just with a flick of the wrist. They're dead, because of me.

"And I don't care. I can't. I won't. I ENJOY it, Wu-dude, I love the heat of battle and even the killing, in my dream. And that scares me more than anything else in the world.

"I don't want to dump on you, man, I was really trying to keep it to myself" He jumped up, and now the twinkle in his eyes was back. He smiled slyly. "But now you have to tell me too!"

"What are you-oh. Shit." _I did say that, didn't I?_

Duo nodded, and now the grin was back too. He bowed ironically, and bounded to the door. "Come on up whenever, 'Feibut make it soon, or else I'll come back down and tickle it out of ya." He laughed. "Don't think I won't!"

Duo left Wufei to sort through his thoughts, and try to reconcile what Duo had just told him with almost everything else he had ever said.

*

Maybe an hour later, Duo looked up from his book, and went to answer his door.

"Howdy stranger." He pulled the door the rest of the way open, and dragged Wufei bodily to the bed, where he pressed him down and then sat opposite him.

"So! Ready to spill?"

Wufei glared at him, but found that he couldn't seem to put any real force behind it, so just sighed instead. "Because I did indeed say that if you told me what was keeping you up that I would respond in kind. And" He gritted his teeth a little "I thank you for trusting me enough to speak about your dreams. I'm sorry that you are so afflicted."

Duo's eyes widened appreciably. _Thanks AND conciliation? _"Who are you and what have you done with Wufei!?" Looking at the stricken expression on the other's face, he chuckled and tackled him into a hug.

"Thanks, Wu-man. Now tell me your story, and maybe I'll earn MYSELF a tackle-hug!"

"That seems unlikely, wang be dan, now OFF!"

Once normality was restored, Wufei sighed deeply and Duo wiped the humor from his face. "Her namewas Meiran

"No, wait, I should start-ma de dan, I should have planned this better. I'm the last member of my family. I was married. Her name was Meiran, and Treize killed her with all of the rest. When I dream, it is of her. The dreams are fine, very happy and nostalgicbut everything they show is gone now. Her. The clan. The colony. My chances for revenge."

Wufei's voice and face were changing, right in front of Duo, into something totally other than what he was used to. _I knew there was a softer side to Wu-manbut it's still incredible to see it!_

"I miss those things, even though I know I shouldn't, and that they did what they should have. When I didn't. I lost to him, Duo, and he let me go. It's as though he didn't even have to beat me. Because he already had."

Wufei found himself face-up again, and didn't struggle nearly as much in Duo's arms as last time. "You haven't lost, Wufei. You're the strongest person I know, stronger than Treize. I'm honored that you would share this with me, especially since I'm sure you haven't with anyone else.

"I'm honoredto be your friend, Wufei."

The Chinese boy's wriggling ceased entirely, as he digested these words. _HeIS my friend, isn't he? The only friend I have. ALL I have left, really, besides my Gundam and my memories._

He tried hard to make it sound reluctant, but Duo still shivered with delight when he heard the words. "And I'm honored to be yours. Duo."

*

Wufei was halfway out of the door to head to his own bed, a 'good night Duo' on his lips, when the other boy grabbed at his shoulder.

"I stopped dreaming about Death, Wu-man. Just recently. All I can dream about is you." Wufei's eyes widened, but all of the blood his brain needed for a well-thought-out response was routed to a different part of his body as Duo mashed their lips together.

Wufei wrapped his arms around the braided boy, and they spun and staggered around the room briefly before Wufei managed to gently lay him out on the bed, settling in on top.

The kiss never stopped.

Duo's hands reached out to grasp the seat of Wufei's pants, and pressed it against him. Tightly. They both moaned softly, then Duo captured an earlobe in his mouth, playing teeth and tongue over it, licking and nipping until Wufei cried out and pulled away to ravish at the American's neck.

Soon the vast majority of their clothing was missing, and Duo jerked upwards to press his chest against Wufei's, relishing the strength and warmth while he pressed his tongue into the other boy's mouth. Wufei was not about to let that go, and retaliated by taking Duo into his hand and squeezing ever-so-gently. Just to let him know who was in charge.

Duo melted in the Chinese boy's mouth, and placed one hand on top of Wufei's, as the other one descended to Wufei's own erection.

Followed quickly by his mouth, wet heat surrounding him, taking him in, and Wufei nearly screamed it was so good-

Wufei woke up when Duo tried to move him over so he could get some sleep.

It was unlikely that Wufei had ever opened his eyes wider. "MA DE DAN!"

Duo nearly jumped out of his skin. "Sorry! Damn, sorry Wu-man, I figured I'd let you crash here, but you were taking up all of the damn covers" He grinned weakly.

Looking up at Duo's surprise, he shook his head slightly and bowed a little. "Oh, sorry. I must have drifted off. I won't steal my friend's bed."

"What were you dreaming about, anyway? Sounded nice"

"Nothing."

_Truth be told, I'd love to take you up on that offer, but now that I've won your friendship it would be wrong to so impose on it._ "Good night, Duo."

"'Alright then'night, 'Feioh, and here. CD for ya." Duo blushed a little. "Umm, it's mostly crap, but track 5well, just listen to it. If you get a chance I mean." He ushered Wufei out into the hall, where he began a quick jog to his room.

Nothing could pique his curiosity like a blushing Duo Maxwell.

*

Puddle of Mudd, Come Clean, Track 5; Blurry.

__

Everything's so blurry 

And everyone's so fake 

And everybody's empty 

And everything is so messed up 

Preoccupied without you 

I cannot live at all 

My whole world surrounds you 

I stumble then I crawl 

You could be my someone 

You could be my scene 

You know that I'll protect you 

From all of the obscene 

I wonder what your doing 

Imagine where you are 

There's oceans in between us 

But that's not very far 

Can you take it all away 

Can you take it all away 

Well ya shoved it in my face 

This pain you gave to me 

Can you take it all away 

Can you take it all away 

Well ya shoved it my face 

Everyone is changing 

There's no one left that's real 

To make up your own ending 

And let me know just how you feel 

'Cause I am lost without you 

I cannot live at all 

My whole world surrounds you 

I stumble then I crawl 

You could be my someone 

You could be my scene 

You know that I'll protect you 

From all of the obscene 

I wonder what your doing 

Imagine where you are 

There's oceans in between us 

But that's not very far 

(Right, three things, first off sorry for the Puddle of Mudd. I know, I know. Don't send me hate mail, it just seemed appropriate. Second, I need opinions on whether or not this should become an arc, with maybe just a little 1x2x5 action thrown innot that this part is done yet! Hell no! And finally, I bestow my internal organs on a silver plate to Dil, he who beta reads for the gods, may his enemies catch nasty venereal diseases from their frequent and unhealthy masturbation and his glory be everlasting. Farewell! Love ya' Koishii!)


	5. Tear Down The Wall

Chapter 5: Tear Down the Wall (Written over the course of a month or two to more music than you can POSSIBLY IMAGINE)

(Alright, I've been indulging in juicy 2x4-ness for LONG ENOUGH! MY TIME HAS COME! ANOTHER CHAPTER! W00t!!!11 This is a special one, btw, for everyone who reminded me that I had that other thing I was writing (remember? The 2x5?), and that if it didn't get new chappies soon I would be found spray-painted pink and hung by my nuts in a dark alley. Enjoy, or else me and them will pound you flat. No I don't own any GW. Rub it in why dontcha?)

Wufei did not understand.

He didn't understand the song, or Duo, or the dreams. It was almost enough to make him miss the old dreams, which while sad, were not so confusing. And usually didn't bring with them a stiffness in the morning not cured by most kinds of stretching.

When Wufei was married, he was glad it wasn't by his choice, because he saw relationships as the most complicated things in the universe. They defied definitions, rules, ends, beginnings, and deprived the participants of all sense the vast majority of the time. So his clan had chosen, and chosen well, and he had been happy in knowing that it was his duty to love his wife as it was hers to love him.

They had been happy. Everyone was happy. The path was clear or obstacles or confusion.

Now of course they were all dead, and Wufei didn't know where to go or what to do.

_My sole concentration should be this war, my revenge, my duty. But Duo is creeping into my life, muddling everything with his attention and his songs and his godamn body in my dreams._

What am I going to do? Where do I go from here?

*

Duo knew where he wanted to go, and what he wanted to do when he got there. Grin in place, he knocked.

"Hello Duo," Wufei looked distracted. _Not really his usual persona, the only person I know more focused than him is Heero_

"Heya Wu-man! Sup?"

"You know, English is my second language and I _still_ speak it better than you do. Maybe I could get you a translator"

"Nah, no one else speaks my language."

Wufei sighed and stepped aside, wordlessly inviting Duo in. "Are you merely in need of amusement, or do you have something you need to discuss?"

"You could say that." The braided boy was wearing a smile that quite frankly scared Wufei shitless. _What prank am I about to be the butt of now, I wonder?_

"What are you planning? Don't think I can't see it in your eyes! Should I go check up on my Gundam, or just go make sure there aren't any empty bottles of laxative lying around?" The last time Duo had used THAT trick he had the misfortune of slipping the relaxant to Heero right before a mission, and while the Perfect Soldier did not allow this to distract him, he was not pleased about his cockpit and pants.

_Luckily spandex cleans easy, and Quatre managed to argue Heero out of forcing him to clean off the seat with his tongue, he just had to scrub down the rest of Wing too._

And Duo still said it was worth it.

The joker in question sniggered. "You have to admit, Hee-chan really DOES need tounclench a little. What better for someone that anal retentive?"

I'm praying you aren't going to try something like that on ME, not even Winner could protect you then"

"Oh come ON, Wu-man, I may an idiot, but I'm not a fool!"

"Well then," Asked Wufei, falling bodily on the bed and nastily smacking the back of his head against the wall "What DO you want at this particularly ungodly hour of the morning when all sane people have long since gone to sleep?"

The usually omnipresent grin faded, and Duo chewed on his lower lip nervously. "Gimme a sec, Wu-ster." He began to pace in tight circles, which seriously worried Wufei.

_Since when does DUO this nervous, unless a mission or something is involved?_ Wufei asked himself, automatically correcting the other pilot on his name. _Has he-did he catch meLOOKING? Dammit, now I'm nervous!_

Duo spun a final time in place, and faced Wufei. "Right. Let's do this."

"Do wh-"

And with that, the braided boy leaned in and softly kissed Wufei's half-open lips.

*

An eternity or so later Duo realized the utter absence of cruel words of rejection or defensive blows and holds on his person. In fact, if anything Wufei seemed to be enjoying himself.

When he finally opened his eyes, he could see that Wufei was still just staring. Deep, almond pools that gave away nothing returned his curious, nervous gaze until he had to blink. Duo stood back up with a little, cut-off laugh. "You win."

"Win what?" Wufei's voice was far to soft for Duo's liking, but didn't seemdangerous. Just quiet.

"Staring contest."

"Is that what that was?" The Chinese boy's tone never changed, and even though he knew that deadpan was the only kind of humor Wufei could handle Duo's forehead beaded with sweat.

Honesty was probably the best route, he decided. "Nope. That was me kissing you. Full on the lips. Because I wanted to, and I liked it, and I'm sorry if you didn't." Duo pasted on a grin and prepared to bite the bullet, fist, or ever-present sword. _It was worth it._

He was dissapointed, but only in the sense that no attack was forthcoming. No physical attack I mean. Well, no physical attack that was more focused on hurting him than it was on sending him to a world composed entirely of pleasure.

With a slight bit of trouble regarding nose positioning, Wuefi returned the kiss, making up for lack of experience with the passion he put into the effort. Duo nearly pulled away immediately before he realized that the other boy was NOT trying to kill him, and did have to pull away soon anyway so he could pant like a leopard in heat next to the bed.

Wufei threw his braided friend an amused smirk. "Your turn."

"DAMNcatch myfuckin breath"

"Can't handle it?" The almond pools were smiling, and the rest of the face wasn't far behind.

"I'll show ya how to handle, you sexy sunovabitch!" With that, Duo sent himself flying onto the bed, and Wufei, only to find himself in a simple but effective hold that completely pinned him against the wall. "Oomph?"

"What," Asked the other boy, mouth much closer to Duo's ear than either of them was totally used to, "exactly are we doing?"

Muffled slightly by a wall, the braided pilot replied "Well I WAS gonna handle you"

"Speak English, ben dan, or I suppose Chinese if you know it. Explain right now or you're going to bed. Alone."

Duo was about to give a glib reply about having lived with THAT terrible fate for 18-odd years now, but Wufei's eyes said that wasn't a good idea. "I'm open to suggestions, but as long as I can get back in the mood you smacked me out of, I'll bet you could get me to do just about anything." He waggled as much as himself as possible in the iron grip he was held in and hoped it was seductive.

It was. The black-haired pilot released his comrade and sat back while Duo sorted out his limbs. He spoke before the American could recover enough for another tackle. "You'll have to explain things to me. I am not veryexperienced in theseareas."

He managed to get out "And I will NOT be on the bottom," before he found himself pinned and straddled. "You know," Said Duo, dropping one hand off behind him to work at Wufei's zipper, "I've been wanting to do this forever."

All Wufei could do was grunt. The rest of his concentration was on the feel of warm hands through the thin materiel of his shorts.

"Let's start off slow" Said Duo, sliding himself back down his Chinese mount, on the way releasing his hands and smoothly removing his boxers. Wufei moaned when Duo's ass rubbed past his crotch, and trailed off into an ' as a hand grasped him.

"Maybe later we'll go faster," Was all Wufei heard before there was nothing in his life but warm, wet pleasure.

*

Flowers. Flowers everywhere. Meiran was lying in them, but it wasn't really her, Wufei could see a Meiran-shaped hole in reality, trough which lay an entire future. Life with the clan, being a scholar, the next generation he would father and the warm, hard from exercise body that would spoon against him every night

Then the hole closed, leaving only a body of a young, athletic girl. Wufei screamed, and only woke up when the field burst into flames around him.

*

Reality seemed infinitely better for once, if a tad stiff, sticky, and tangled. Wufei wondered idly if bits of him and/or Duo had joined on a cellular level with the sheets, or each other, or if the bonding sensation was the result of dried-

_Ma de dan._ _What have I done?_ He examined his position with a more critical eye. Duo was using his chest as a mattress and his own hair as a pillow, and one of Wufei's hands was wrapped around his back. The other held tight to a bed post, which also seemed to be partly entangled with the sheet, which had wrapped itself around most things in the room despite being mostly twisted into a rope.

Luminescent paint dulled by sunlight from the windows, the dull green-gray hands on Wufei's clock pointed to 11:43, which was late even in these mostly sleepless days for him. It was time to move, no matter how attached, physically and emotionally, he was to however many things in the room. He had to get out. Think for a bit.

Carefully and ever-so-slowly he removed himself from Duo and the bed's grasp, and slid from the room, closing the door as softly as humanly possible.

As soon as he was sure Wufei was gone, Duo made a solid attempt to open his eyes. It didn't get very far. It seemed every part of him was jammed and gummy from either sleep or sex. His throat rasped and burned for a drink, where it had been hot with sweet passion last night, his eyes that had closed softly into loving sleep now felt glued shut, and his ass

_OwwwI should have planned this better_ Remembering his romp, though, he smiled. _Worth it. Definitely worth it._

Duo slumped out of bed into the cold world and took the first step back towards humanity in general and Wufei in particular.


End file.
